Web Design, SEO and Digital Marketing FAQs

We’re based in Slacks Creek, Queensland, and work primarily with Brisbane and South East Queensland businesses. Because our services are delivered remotely once a project starts, we can also take on clients elsewhere in Australia — get in touch to confirm we’re a fit for your location.

 Contact us with a brief description of your business, whether you need a new site or a redesign, and any pages or features you already know you want. We’ll follow up with questions and a written quote based on the pricing tiers that best fit your needs.

 Yes. We build new websites from scratch and take on existing sites for redesign or ongoing maintenance. If you’re bringing us an existing site built by another agency, we run a Site Health Audit first to check for security issues before starting any ongoing work — see Website Maintenance.

 Tharlizwa Media has over 15 years of experience serving Brisbane businesses with web design, SEO and digital marketing. This figure should also replace the differing “10 years” and “10+ years” mentions currently on the homepage and blog to keep the claim consistent sitewide.

 Most small-business sites need a Homepage, About, Services (or Products), Contact, and a quote/enquiry form. Our Business Growth package covers up to seven pages built around this structure — see Web Design Pricing for what’s included at each tier.

 It depends on your goals and budget. Free/DIY builders suit a very early-stage side project with no budget, but they typically limit design control, SEO flexibility, and ownership of the finished site. A professionally built WordPress site gives you a site you fully control content on, built around your business rather than a generic template.

 AI builders can produce a usable starting layout quickly, but they generally can’t replace human judgement on structure, brand fit, technical SEO setup, and accessibility — and support when something breaks is often limited. For a website that needs to convert local leads and rank in search, a professionally built and properly configured site remains the more reliable option.

 Yes — see Web ReDesign. Existing sites are audited first (design, technical SEO, and security) so the redesign fixes real problems rather than just changing appearance.

 Yes. All sites are built mobile-first and tested across common device sizes, since most local searches happen on a phone.

 Yes. Sites are built on WordPress, a content management system that lets you edit text, images, and basic page content without coding knowledge. Larger structural changes are usually still best handled by us.

 New sites are built with sound on-page SEO foundations (page structure, headings, basic keyword mapping) as part of the design process. Ongoing SEO work — content, link building, and continuous optimisation — is a separate, dedicated service; see Search Engine Optimisation.

 Yes, provided you have access to your domain’s DNS settings. We’ll point it to your new hosting once the site is ready to launch — see Domains, Hosting and Business Email for who should own the domain itself.

 Yes, WordPress is our standard content management system for business websites, chosen for its flexibility and ease of client-side editing.

 Yes — see eCommerce Web Design and the Ecommerce Websites section below for platform and inclusion details.

 Once a design is signed off, changes to requirements or specifications fall outside the original agreement and are billed hourly.

 Number of pages, whether the site includes ecommerce functionality, how much custom design and copywriting is needed, and any third-party integrations (booking systems, CRMs, payment gateways). See Web Design Pricing for tier-by-tier inclusions.

 This depends on the package.

 Yes, if you take up hosting, maintenance, SEO, or digital marketing as ongoing services — these are billed monthly. A one-off website build itself is a single project fee unless you choose ongoing support.

 For most package tiers, yes — typically 50% upfront to begin work, with the balance due at final sign-off before launch. Our entry-level Startup Launch package is paid in full upfront, because it bundles domain registration and a year of hosting alongside the one-page design. Check your specific package on Web Design Pricing for the exact payment structure that applies.

 Yes. SEO is a distinct, ongoing monthly service separate from the one-off website build fee — see Search Engine Optimisation.

Yes. 

 We recommend the business itself is the registered owner of its domain, even if Tharlizwa manages the technical setup. This protects you if you ever change web design or hosting providers.

 Some packages include one professional email account (e.g. name@yourbusiness.com.au) as part of hosting. Check the specific inclusions on Web Design Pricing, since this varies by tier.

 Yes — see Website Ownership and Handover for what “access” includes and when it’s provided.

 A full handover typically includes admin access to your WordPress dashboard, hosting account access (or details, if hosting is managed elsewhere), your domain login if we manage it, and copies of your site’s files and database.

 Yes, you’ll be given your own named administrator account rather than only a shared master login, so access can be tracked and revoked individually if needed.

 It’s not compulsory, but websites do require regular software updates and security monitoring to stay safe and functional — see Website Security and Maintenance.

 Yes. Because sites are built on WordPress with standard hosting, they can be migrated elsewhere. Third-party premium themes or plugin licences may need to be renewed under the new owner’s own account, depending on the licence type.

 Our monthly plans include daily backups, security scanning, and WordPress core and plugin updates. Ad-hoc, pay-as-you-go support is also available for one-off fixes. Full current inclusions and pricing are on Website Maintenance.

 Clients on an active maintenance plan benefit from regular backups, so in most cases we can act quickly to restore a clean, working version of the site. This doesn’t cover compromises caused by third-party plugins outside our management, credentials shared with an unverified third party, or hosting-level breaches. Sites without an active maintenance plan or outside their Launch Support period won’t have a recent backup on file, so it’s best to have maintenance in place before an incident happens, not after.

 No website can be guaranteed 100% secure — security is about reducing risk through regular updates, monitoring, and good practices, not eliminating it entirely. We recommend an active maintenance plan for exactly this reason.

 Yes. We run a Site Health Audit first — checking for malware, illegitimate “nulled” plugins, and performance issues — before starting ongoing maintenance, so we know what we’re taking on. See Website Maintenance for the full process.

 New websites include 30-Day Launch Support: for the first 30 days after launch, we address genuine defects in the delivered work at no extra charge, and keep recent backups so we can act quickly to restore a working version if something goes wrong. This covers issues in our own build — it doesn’t cover problems caused by content changes made after handover, third-party plugins or integrations, hosting-provider outages, or unauthorised access by anyone other than Tharlizwa Media. After 30 days, ongoing backups and support continue only through an active Website Maintenance plan.

 Not necessarily immediately, but most Brisbane businesses relying on search to be found benefit from ongoing SEO once the site is live, since good on-page foundations alone rarely compete with established local rivals.

 SEO results build gradually rather than instantly. Search engines need time to crawl, index and evaluate changes to a site, and competitive local terms typically take several months of consistent work before meaningful movement shows in rankings.

No SEO provider can honestly guarantee a specific Google ranking. Google’s own guidance is clear that no one can guarantee crawling, indexing or ranking outcomes, and Google doesn’t accept payment for higher organic rankings. We focus on transparent, well-prioritised work and honest reporting instead of guarantees no one can deliver.

 Search engines regularly update their ranking systems, competitors change their own sites, and seasonal search demand shifts. Some month-to-month movement is normal and doesn’t necessarily reflect a problem with the SEO work itself.

 No, it’s an ongoing monthly service with an initial 6-month commitment, since SEO needs sustained work before results become measurable. You can request cancellation at any time; it takes effect once the initial 6-month term is complete, and then continues month to month.

 Technical SEO covers the behind-the-scenes elements that help search engines crawl and understand a site properly — site speed, mobile-friendliness, structured data, secure connections (HTTPS), and clean URL structure.

 On-page SEO covers elements you control directly on each page — content quality, headings, keyword relevance, internal links, and image alt text.

 Off-page SEO covers factors outside the website itself, mainly backlinks from other reputable sites, which act as a trust signal to search engines.

One-off SEO is a defined, finite project — such as a technical audit or a specific page review — quoted as a standalone job. Ongoing SEO is a continuing engagement with an initial six-month minimum commitment, suited to competitive markets or websites needing staged, continuing improvement.

 Regularly published, genuinely useful content can help attract search visibility for a wider range of relevant terms over time, though it’s one part of a broader SEO strategy rather than a guarantee on its own.

 Through metrics like organic traffic, keyword rankings, and conversions from search traffic, tracked via analytics tools and reported to clients periodically.

SEO projects are personally led and overseen by Tharlizwa Media. Trusted project-based specialists may assist with selected work when appropriate, with strategy, coordination and quality review managed by Tharlizwa Media.

 Typically, access to your website’s admin dashboard and analytics/search console accounts. We recommend being added as a user on your own Google Search Console and Analytics properties rather than transferring account ownership.

Yes. Ongoing SEO plans have an initial six-month minimum commitment. After that, the service continues month to month and can be cancelled in accordance with the service agreement.

Typically, access to your website’s admin dashboard and analytics/search console accounts. We recommend being added as a user on your own Google Search Console and Analytics properties rather than transferring account ownership.

 It’s a free Google listing showing your business in Maps and local search results, including your name, address, phone number, hours, and reviews.

 The business itself should be the verified owner of its own Google Business Profile, even if an agency manages it day to day. This protects your listing if you ever change providers.

 No — as with organic SEO, local map rankings depend on factors outside any agency’s direct control, including competitor activity and Google’s own algorithm. We optimise your profile and citations properly, but can’t promise a specific position.

 Similar to organic SEO, meaningful improvement typically takes a few months of consistent, correct setup and ongoing activity rather than an instant change.

 Yes — genuine customer reviews are one of several signals that can support local visibility, alongside profile completeness and citation consistency.

 Paid advertising typically produces visible traffic faster, since it doesn’t rely on building organic ranking over time. SEO is slower to build but continues delivering value without ongoing spend per click.

 No — a well-run campaign can generate qualified traffic, but conversion also depends on your offer, pricing, and website experience. We can’t guarantee enquiry or sales volumes.

 We recommend the business owns its own Google Ads account, with Tharlizwa granted manager access, so you retain full control and history if you ever change providers.

 No — ad spend (paid directly to Google or other platforms) is separate from any management fee charged for running the campaign.

 Conversion tracking measures specific actions on your website that matter to your business — like form submissions or calls — so campaign performance can be judged on real outcomes, not just clicks.

 Yes, and many businesses benefit from running both — Ads for immediate visibility while SEO builds longer-term organic results.

 We typically build on WooCommerce (WordPress-based) or Shopify, depending on your product range, budget, and how much control you want over the underlying site. See current package inclusions on Web Design Pricing.

 No — payment gateway providers (like Stripe or PayPal) charge their own transaction fees directly, separate from your website build or maintenance costs.

 You provide product names, descriptions, pricing and images; we handle upload, formatting, and store setup, including any migration assistance specified in your package.

 Yes — these are standard requirements for any Australian online store and should reflect your actual business practices.

 Yes, generally more than a standard brochure site — plugin and platform updates are more frequent and higher-stakes on a store handling payments and customer data. See Website Maintenance.

 Website Maintenance plans are pre-paid month to month and can be cancelled at any time, remaining active until the end of the current billing cycle. SEO services have an initial 6-month commitment, since meaningful results take sustained work to show — you can request cancellation at any time, and it takes effect once that initial term is complete. See SEO for details.

 You’ll be provided with your own administrator access, hosting details (where applicable), and copies of your site files and database so you retain full control of your website

Through a password manager, or a secure one-time link.